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Firefighters Respond To Blaze At Blommer Chocolate Factory

CHICAGO (CBS) — For the second time in as many weeks, Chicago firefighters were responding to a fire Tuesday afternoon at the Blommer Chocolate Company factory in the Fulton River District neighborhood.

According to the Chicago Fire Department, it was a mechanical fire that started in the cooling tower on the roof at the Blommer factory, at 600 West Kinzie Street, around 1:45 p.m. At least one machine caught fire.

All 200 employees self-evacuated, have been accounted for and are safe.

The fire comes 11 days after a small fire prompted an evacuation of the Blommer plant. About 80 employees had to evacuate on Nov. 3, after a piece of equipment used to bag cocoa overheated and caught fire on the southeast corner of the fourth floor.

No one was injured in the Nov. 3 fire.

The fires appear to be unrelated.

The Health Department will determine when it is safe for the company to start making chocolate again.